While it’s pretty obvious that new Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount is not a three down player at the NFL level, there is one down and distance in particular that he has excelled at since coming into the league in 2010.
Dating back to 2010, Blount has averaged 5.47 yards per carry on first and ten. To put that into perspective, there have been 75 running backs that have carried the ball 100 or more times dating back to 2010 and only Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs has a higher yards per carry average (6.31) during that span.
Last season with the New England Patriots, 85 of Blount’s 153 total carries came on first down and ten, and he averaged 6.00 yards per carry. The three years prior to that as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Blount still averaged 5.28 yards per carry on 233 first and ten runs.
Here is another interesting stat about Blount on first and ten. Exactly 50% of his 318 career first and ten carries (159) have gone for four yards or more.
In case your curious, dating back to 2010, running backs that have carried the football for the Pittsburgh Steelers on first and ten have averaged 4.28 yards per carry and only 43.3% of those carries went for four yards or more.
Past performance doesn’t predict future success when it comes to the NFL, but there’s no denying that Blount should be a very capable early down fill-in running back for the Steelers in 2014 as long as their offensive line stays healthy.
2010-2013 Running Back Carries On 1st & 10 – Minimum 100 To Qualify
| PLAYER | RUSH | YDS | YPC | TD | 4+YDS | 4+YDS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaal Charles | 394 | 2487 | 6.31 | 7 | 208 | 52.8% |
| LeGarrette Blount | 318 | 1741 | 5.47 | 7 | 159 | 50.0% |
| Brandon Jacobs | 184 | 1005 | 5.46 | 3 | 97 | 52.7% |
| Toby Gerhart | 125 | 649 | 5.19 | 2 | 58 | 46.4% |
| Kendall Hunter | 126 | 652 | 5.17 | 1 | 66 | 52.4% |
| Tim Hightower | 139 | 714 | 5.14 | 1 | 59 | 42.4% |
| Adrian Peterson | 563 | 2871 | 5.10 | 8 | 251 | 44.6% |
| Alfred Morris | 330 | 1674 | 5.07 | 6 | 166 | 50.3% |
| Reggie Bush | 404 | 2039 | 5.05 | 8 | 187 | 46.3% |
| LeSean McCoy | 458 | 2268 | 4.95 | 4 | 227 | 49.6% |
| Arian Foster | 479 | 2365 | 4.94 | 5 | 223 | 46.6% |
| Chris Ivory | 235 | 1154 | 4.91 | 3 | 115 | 48.9% |
| Darren McFadden | 338 | 1657 | 4.90 | 3 | 126 | 37.3% |
| Mark Ingram | 201 | 974 | 4.85 | 4 | 102 | 50.7% |
| DeAngelo Williams | 381 | 1847 | 4.85 | 12 | 155 | 40.7% |
| Frank Gore | 497 | 2397 | 4.82 | 4 | 230 | 46.3% |
| Ben Tate | 219 | 1052 | 4.80 | 0 | 104 | 47.5% |
| Eddie Lacy | 151 | 725 | 4.80 | 1 | 69 | 45.7% |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | 471 | 2255 | 4.79 | 4 | 217 | 46.1% |
| DeMarco Murray | 297 | 1419 | 4.78 | 0 | 155 | 52.2% |
| C.J. Spiller | 348 | 1664 | 4.78 | 6 | 148 | 42.5% |
| Fred Jackson | 374 | 1781 | 4.76 | 3 | 189 | 50.5% |
| Ryan Torain | 121 | 572 | 4.73 | 0 | 56 | 46.3% |
| Donald Brown | 235 | 1102 | 4.69 | 4 | 107 | 45.5% |
| Jonathan Dwyer | 119 | 556 | 4.67 | 0 | 54 | 45.4% |
| Stevan Ridley | 293 | 1359 | 4.64 | 2 | 145 | 49.5% |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | 347 | 1598 | 4.61 | 7 | 156 | 45.0% |
| Marshawn Lynch | 524 | 2386 | 4.55 | 7 | 248 | 47.3% |
| Pierre Thomas | 249 | 1127 | 4.53 | 1 | 128 | 51.4% |
| Willis McGahee | 349 | 1572 | 4.50 | 3 | 166 | 47.6% |
| Roy Helu | 112 | 501 | 4.47 | 2 | 57 | 50.9% |
| Andre Brown | 103 | 460 | 4.47 | 0 | 52 | 50.5% |
| Bernard Scott | 109 | 485 | 4.45 | 2 | 51 | 46.8% |
| Ray Rice | 545 | 2419 | 4.44 | 1 | 234 | 42.9% |
| Felix Jones | 249 | 1104 | 4.43 | 0 | 117 | 47.0% |
| Isaac Redman | 123 | 545 | 4.43 | 0 | 56 | 45.5% |
| Joique Bell | 137 | 606 | 4.42 | 2 | 67 | 48.9% |
| Doug Martin | 247 | 1087 | 4.40 | 3 | 112 | 45.3% |
| Matt Forte | 493 | 2170 | 4.40 | 4 | 208 | 42.2% |
| Chris Johnson | 612 | 2689 | 4.39 | 9 | 254 | 41.5% |
| Danny Woodhead | 154 | 668 | 4.34 | 0 | 82 | 53.2% |
| Ryan Mathews | 504 | 2188 | 4.34 | 7 | 225 | 44.6% |
| Michael Bush | 283 | 1226 | 4.33 | 2 | 120 | 42.4% |
| Shonn Greene | 426 | 1840 | 4.32 | 3 | 221 | 51.9% |
| James Starks | 161 | 693 | 4.30 | 3 | 72 | 44.7% |
| Jonathan Stewart | 211 | 900 | 4.27 | 1 | 89 | 42.2% |
| Jahvid Best | 152 | 645 | 4.24 | 2 | 55 | 36.2% |
| Mike Tolbert | 204 | 854 | 4.19 | 0 | 94 | 46.1% |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 150 | 625 | 4.17 | 0 | 64 | 42.7% |
| Bilal Powell | 151 | 627 | 4.15 | 0 | 67 | 44.4% |
| Rashad Jennings | 165 | 685 | 4.15 | 1 | 70 | 42.4% |
| Lamar Miller | 129 | 534 | 4.14 | 1 | 59 | 45.7% |
| Joseph Addai | 124 | 510 | 4.11 | 0 | 52 | 41.9% |
| Brandon Jackson | 111 | 454 | 4.09 | 0 | 50 | 45.0% |
| Peyton Hillis | 283 | 1142 | 4.04 | 1 | 135 | 47.7% |
| Knowshon Moreno | 344 | 1382 | 4.02 | 1 | 148 | 43.0% |
| Beanie Wells | 250 | 1000 | 4.00 | 1 | 115 | 46.0% |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 455 | 1822 | 4.00 | 2 | 186 | 40.9% |
| Daniel Thomas | 181 | 715 | 3.95 | 0 | 86 | 47.5% |
| Steven Jackson | 519 | 2048 | 3.95 | 2 | 213 | 41.0% |
| Michael Turner | 456 | 1801 | 3.95 | 0 | 186 | 40.8% |
| BenJarvus Green-Ellis | 495 | 1951 | 3.94 | 2 | 219 | 44.2% |
| Jackie Battle | 142 | 560 | 3.94 | 0 | 56 | 39.4% |
| Cedric Benson | 338 | 1311 | 3.88 | 1 | 156 | 46.2% |
| Thomas Jones | 201 | 770 | 3.83 | 1 | 84 | 41.8% |
| Ricky Williams | 135 | 516 | 3.82 | 0 | 65 | 48.1% |
| Zac Stacy | 129 | 487 | 3.78 | 0 | 51 | 39.5% |
| Ronnie Brown | 147 | 553 | 3.76 | 1 | 56 | 38.1% |
| Mikel Leshoure | 124 | 465 | 3.75 | 0 | 52 | 41.9% |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 130 | 484 | 3.72 | 0 | 51 | 39.2% |
| Bernard Pierce | 136 | 501 | 3.68 | 0 | 60 | 44.1% |
| Vick Ballard | 118 | 424 | 3.59 | 0 | 48 | 40.7% |
| Trent Richardson | 228 | 802 | 3.52 | 1 | 102 | 44.7% |
| Le’Veon Bell | 114 | 397 | 3.48 | 0 | 49 | 43.0% |
| Cadillac Williams | 100 | 295 | 2.95 | 0 | 34 | 34.0% |
